Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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I was at a Christian conference center where the children's program included gymnastics instruction. No, no, I did not get involved personally; my leotard doesn't fit any more. But there were some kids who were getting the hang of the forward rolls and the backward rolls. And there were some kids there who weren't getting the hang of it as well. They paraded them all out one night for a little show. And one girl raised her hands as she was supposed to, very gracefully, got into position to do a forward roll, and stayed there. She couldn't quite get the roll rolling, until the instructor got behind her and pushed her forward again, and then again.
Now, it wasn't the little girl's muscles that were moving her, it was someone else's. But at the end she took a bow just as if she had mastered these gymnastics routines. See, she has the illusion she can do it, but she's really paralyzed on her own, like a lot of God's students I know; like this one right here.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When No One's Pushing."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Philippians 2. It's Paul's commendation of some people who had learned their routines so to speak, pretty well. I'm reading from verse 12, which says this: "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Now, first of all, this is not a verse that teaches you that you are saved by your good works. It's about working out the salvation you already have; working it out into your everyday life. It's the "out working." It's making sure that what is in you works its way out so people can see it. But He says significantly you don't just do it when I'm there; you do it when I'm not there. See, these people were following Christ, but not just when their leader was there pushing them.
A lot of Christians who do the Christian routines do them as long as there is someone there pushing. The scary part about that is that it's a second-hand faith. What kind of Christian are you when your youth leader or your pastor is nowhere close; when your parents aren't watching? What happens when you're the only Christian in your dorm, or your office, or your class, or your circle of friends? When your environment changes, does your faith change too? See, that's a second-hand faith. It's not going to make it.
It's time you started to develop spiritual muscles of your own. Whatever your age, maybe you're too dependent on someone else to open the Bible for you, on someone else to keep you motivated, on someone else to keep you on track. You've got to develop your own discipline of time in The Word, of making Christ-honoring choices when there's nobody around to see but Him. You've got to take a stand on your own. See, it's risky to be God's person on your own, but it's such a good feeling when you stand for Christ and know you did it on your own, with only Him watching.
Look, let's take the crutches away and start doing some forward rolls on our own. Ask yourself, "What kind of Christian am I when no one is there pushing?" And start building up those spiritual muscles of your own.